No Excuses

When summer first started I had ambitious plans for all of the cool adventures we would take and fun things we would discover and then the reality of having an infant in the house knocked me right off my fun wagon. I longed for the day when leaving the house did not involve making sure that I had wipes, diapers, a change of clothes, pacifier, toy, car seat, blanket, carrier, and maybe a stroller. Oh and lets not forget to make sure that I am wearing something that not only fits halfway decent but allows me to nurse without feeling like something is hanging out of place. When it takes this much thought and planning for getting one child out of the house, managing to get all 3 out for something fun just seems nearly impossible and I find myself holing up in our own little home and garden area feeling like the world is having fun without us.

My husband has this saying that he is always telling one of us, be it himself, me or the kids. "If you want something bad enough, you will do what ever it takes to make it happen. If it's not that important that you want to make it happen then you can't complain about it not happening". Touché husband, touché.  So yesterday I decided to make fun and adventure happen. We all loaded into the mini van with wipes, diapers, change of clothes x3, pacifier, toy, carseat, 3 water bottles, 3 granola bars, 1 blanket, 4 bandaids (just in case), and camera. We packed enough for a whole day but we set off to enjoy one hour by the creek.

Moments after we arrived creekside the oldest was stung by a bee and the youngest pooped through her diaper and on to her clothes. A few deep breaths, one diaper, one onsie and a few tears later we all regained our composure and went on to have a fun day. The big kids splashed in the water and jumped on the rocks. They skipped rocks and chased fish together while enjoying every wet, muddy second. The baby was placed on her blanket in the shade on the grass where she promptly rolled into the grass and gathered it by the fistful. She was dirty within seconds but she was so happy. I took the time to enjoy the trees blowing in the breeze while inhaling the fresh warm air. I enjoyed the sound of splashing kids who amazingly did not fight once and sound of the cicadas and birds provided background noise. We left after a little more than an hour feeling refreshed with a fun story to share over dinner that night. There was the harrowing tale of the battle of the bee and adventure of rock climbing through the 'rapids' to tell. I also got to tell my other half thanks for reminded me to stop making excuses and go for things I really want.